Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterise the surface chemistry of cavities after chemomechanical caries excavation, and also to measure the surface topography after caries removal with Carisolv or burs, followed by acid etching.
Methods: Fourier transform (FT)-Raman spectroscopy was used to study the relative amounts of organic material and minerals of sound enamel, dentine, and cavities, after caries excavation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) were used for detection of Carisolv substances (i.e. mainly sodium hypochlorite, amino acids, and the gelling agent carboxymethyl cellulose). In total, 19 carious and 11 sound extracted teeth were used for the chemical analyses. Topographic examination of 30 carious extracted teeth was performed with a contact profilometer.
Results: The relative amounts of organic material and minerals did not significantly differ between sound dentine and the cavities after caries removal with burs or Carisolv. The FTIR analyses indicated extremely small amounts of Carisolv substances at the cavity surface, but the LA-ICP-MS analyses did not confirm those findings. Furthermore, the topographical parameters did not significantly differ between etched cavities after caries removal using burs or Carisolv.
Conclusions: The chemical and topographical analyses in the present study imply that any differences between the cavities after caries excavation with burs or with Carisolv are insignificant.